Our trip to Newport, Rhode Island, was lots of fun. As I mentioned in last week’s column, my sister Mary, her husband John, and I were on our mansion tours while the kids hit the beach and ate lobster rolls (twin rolls for $27—you can’t beat it!)

After our trip through Marble House, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont’s 39th birthday present from Husband Number One (which she subsequently used as a closet and a laundry when she moved down the street with Husband Number Two), we ventured out to her Chinese Tea House which is now selling snacks and prepackaged food. 

We sat outside to admire the view of the rocky cliffs at the end of Newport’s famous Cliff Walk.  We decided that we needed more than wrapped sandwiches, so I suggested we venture down Bellevue Avenue to Memorial Boulevard and check out the choices near the Tennis Hall of Fame.

Thus we fortuitously discovered La Forge Casino Restaurant. It is actually part of the famous International Tennis Hall of Fame which was originally designed by Stanford White and opened in 1880 as the Newport Casino, a social club for Gilded Age tycoons. 

We were delighted with our seat on the patio, which had a view of the historic grass courts of the museum. We recognized the setting from The Gilded Age TV series, when Newport was the summer social scene for the newly rich and famous.

Luckily our vista was wonderful, because we had some time to kill before we saw any food, or drink, for that matter. Mary and I were able to get our glasses of wine, but as I recall, John had to order four or five different beers before we found one they actually had!

We tried waiting for a while, but Mary and I were very thirsty after our mansion tour.

Lunch, when it did arrive, was delicious.  Mary and I had the cup of soup and half salad. She opted for the lobster bisque, and I had the yummy clam chowdah, nicely seasoned with dill.  John had a turkey club sandwich with fries which we helped him devour.

After our lunch, we repaired to The Elms, the home of the coal-rich Berwind family from Philadelphia. Turns out that this summer cottage was due to be demolished before the Newport Heritage Society intervened in the nick of time to save this beauty.

FYI, if you are interested in these mansions but not able to make the trip to Newport, I highly recommend downloading the Newport Mansions app on your phone. With it, you can get the audio tour of six mansions: The Breakers, The Elms, Marble House, Rosecliff, Chateau-sur-Mer, and Kingscote.  Each tour is available in a variety of languages and is accompanied by views of the rooms and properties around the mansion.  I’ve been listening to the “extra” stories of Marble House, and they are fascinating!

After our visit to The Elms, Mary and I decided that it was time for a siesta, so we repaired to our lovely Newport Lofts and rested up. I love traveling with fellow nappers! Very relaxing.